YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Milwaukee women's basketball team had a hard time getting anything going offensively on Thursday night and fell 58-50 to Youngstown State on the road.
 
"I love who we are as a team in terms of how hard we play. There's no quit in our team," head coach Kyle Rechlicz commented. "We play exceptionally hard on both ends of the floor. Unfortunately, two games in a row now, we just haven't been able to put the ball in the basket. We are getting great opportunities; we're panicking around the rim and our threes are not really confident right now."
 
It was a forgettable first half for both teams with neither team eclipsing 20 percent from the floor as Youngstown State (6-0, 3-0 Horizon League) took a 15-14 edge into the break.
 
The Penguins found the range after the half, however, and finished 5-for-8 from three to double up MKE 22-11 in the third quarter and take control.
 
Megan Walstad responded from early foul trouble and came alive in the third quarter, scoring six of the Panthers' first eight points, but YSU could not miss from deep as they built the lead to 37-25 through 30 minutes.
 
Milwaukee (3-5, 2-1 Horizon League) continued to fight in the fourth with a pair of early three-pointers from Walstad, but the Penguins had a match for every basket.
 
Angie Cera saw her first action of the season and played a solid fourth quarter, totaling seven points and two rebounds in 4:35 of action in the frame.
 
The Panthers cut the deficit to 12 on multiple occasions, but each time, YSU had an answer to halt a Milwaukee run.
 
Milwaukee dominated the rebounding battle 48-33 but could not turn those boards into points with just seven points on 15 offensive boards.
 
The Panthers finished 16-for-60 (26.7 percent) from the floor and 26.1 percent (6-for-23) from long range.
 
Walstad led the Panthers with 16 points and added six rebounds.
 
Emma Wittmershaus recorded a season-high 12 rebounds while McKaela Schmelzer (10 rebounds) and Kendall Nead (10) also reached double figure rebounds. Schemlzer added nine points and three assists. Nead's 10 boards marked a new a career high.
 
The Panthers will next head to Robert Morris for a 12:00 pm CT tipoff on Saturday, December 4.
 
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